11. I Set Forth My Soul Alongisde
In the last session in this study of Peter, we prayed the following prayer. “God, our Father, You have saved us and brought us into Yourself. Here, inside of You, You have turned us around that You might go forth as Salvation through us into all creation. We are willing, Lord Jesus, in the Day of Your Power, be the revelation of the Father through us.”
That afternoon, I observed a conversation that filled me with overwhelming distress and loss, that God was NOT keeping His end of the equation and that I was an incapable loser. In my distress, I surrendered ALL to God, that I might be found inside of Him for the sake of others.
To Follow. When I awoke the next morning, I awoke inside the meaning of what we had prayed. I awoke knowing that I live inside of God and that I see out from His eyes. By the time I had my coffee and was ready to write, I first considered my next writing task, which is the two-page box at the end of the JS2, “Being Made Like Jesus.”
I realized that the conscious awareness of living inside of God and seeing out from His eyes is the first substantial part of being like Jesus. Yet how or where would I write these things that I might draw from them to write that last box? Then I realized that these last two pages for 1 Peter, indeed as is all of 1 Peter, are on being made like Jesus. To “follow” Jesus is to be just like Him in Pattern, in Word, and in Spirit.
Placed into God. I will write these two pages as the same topic as that final two-page box, and thus will have all I need to draw from as I write “Being Made Like Jesus.” I may include only part of the final page, however, inside these last two lessons, for completing the JS2 pages for 1 Peter will take most of the space. Here is the source of our heading, 1 Peter 4:19.
Therefore also, those who suffer in the midst of God’s desire are committed to setting forth their souls alongside their faithful Creator inside of His well-doing.
Now, that’s not the wording I had. Rather, in looking even more closely at the exact Greek words Peter used, and their inflections, I altered the English wording just a bit. And yes, Peter was placing us into God and into His Goodness.
The Key Greek Words. We have just found a critical supporting verse for both 1 John 3:16 and Romans 8:28. Let’s find its meaning by discussing the key Greek words.
Hoi pashontes kata to thelēma tou Theou pistō Ktistē paratithesthōsan tas psychas autōn en agathopoiia. Those who suffer (passion) – kata – the desire of God – pistō – Creator – paratithesthōsan – their souls inside of – agathopoiia.
I have left four key words in Greek and italicized them, although en, inside of, is also critical to the meaning. However, Peter includes three distinct qualities of God in one verse, and that is where we must start. The little words then show us our relationship with this God.
Our JS2 Page. Our JS2 page begins with the verse itself, thus it’s in red. I have seldom done that, but we have avoided 1 Peter 4:19 only because it was poorly translated. Now I am startled by it’s Gospel power and critical Truth. Indeed, 1 Peter 4:19 is a completion verse, describing our nature and relationship with God as completed sons forever.
Following the verse is a triple box containing three prepositions, “In the Midst Of,” “Alongside Of,” and “Inside Of.” These speak of three differing parts of being like Jesus. Then, we will put the confessions of faith next. As I puzzle over them, I can see that I want the full meaning first before I can know how to weave them together. Finally, the box “I Set Forth My Soul” will be in the form of a prayer.
The Threes of the Gospel. To begin our study of this incredible verse, we must position the Covenant that God has sworn to us, that He makes us to be just like the Lord Jesus Christ. There are three parts to being made like Jesus. These correspond entirely with all other threes in the gospel, specifically, Paul’s “entrance, vehicle, and destination.”
Let’s say I wanted to drive to New York City. It takes about two seconds for me actually to get into the car here at home. It also takes about two seconds for me to get out of the car and be entirely inside New York City. But Google maps says that I will be driving in the car for 23 hours and 24 minutes. That’s 84,240 seconds. Being made like Jesus follows the same pattern.
The Three Parts of Being Made Like Jesus. We could say it this way. One percent of being made like Jesus is accepting the way God made us, “I can do nothing of myself.” Ninety eight percent of being made like Jesus is our relationship with the Father. Then, the final one percent of being made like Jesus is our outward performance.
Yet most people think only about the outward performance, which, like the destination, changes to fit the person and God’s purpose through them. That is, what God and you do together outwardly changes to fit every moment’s need. No one even begins to be like Jesus without first giving thanks always for the way God made us in the weakness of our humanity, with no sufficiency in self and all sufficiency in God, and inside of every next step we take with God.
Our Relationship with God. The essence of being made like Jesus is our relationship with God our Father. Here is a person who serves coffee; there is a person who raises the dead. There is no meaningful difference between the two. In one moment, someone needed a cup of coffee, and in another moment, someone needed resurrection. The relationship with God is the only thing that counts. The person who serves coffee and the person who raises the dead do so entirely inside of and out from the exact same relationship with God. And the same person can go from one well-doing to the other without hesitation.
All three parts of being made like Jesus are found in 1 Peter 4:19, in incredibly astounding ways.
Three Prepositions. Another astounding thing is that Peter places each of the three qualities of God together with each of the three parts of being made like Jesus. Let’s list them.
Part 1. Those who suffer in the midst of God’s desire.
Part 2. Are committed to setting forth their souls alongside of their faithful Creator.
Part 3. Inside of His well-doing.
We begin with kata, which here I have translated “in the midst of.” Kata is typically translated “according to,” but it’s meaning must be different according to the context. Sometimes it means, “come down to.” I usually translate it, “down to the finest details.” But the context here requires something slightly different.
Suffering with God. We have already done “I Live out from God’s Desire,” and so we can quickly define the meaning of “in the midst of.” God’s desire is that we be with Him, sharing our lives with Him and His with us – as humans – as He made us to be.
Giving thanks that I might share every moment with God is no easy thing. I make mistakes all the time. Difficult losses hit us without warning. In order to share every moment with God, I must place the ongoing suffering of being WEAK into God, into His sharing of all with me. Those who mock when I say, “I am just like Jesus,” do so because they HATE being weak as God made them, and they refuse to give thanks. These are the ones who, having created the image of the “above-you Jesus,” will not suffer with God.
Filled with Faith. Now, before we can consider the topic of this page, which is paratithesthōsan, or even write our first box, we must put together two other words, pistō and agathopoiia.
Peithô is the root, which means to persuade or to be persuaded. Pístis is the noun form, typically translated “faith.” Our word, pistō, is the adjective form of the same word, that is “filled with faith,” or “faithful.” The Word “Creator” is not used to separate God from us, the created, but just the opposite, that Faith, Persuasion, and Faithfulness are always flowing from God into us. Then, the word agathos is what is used in Romans 8:28, pure and intrinsic GOODNESS. Yet here it is in the verb form, “doing good,” except for the extra “i”. That extra “i” brings God as faith and faithfulness into the well-doing.
Permission, Equality, and Life. Now we can position our three prepositions, “in the midst of,” “alongside of,” and “inside of.” “In the midst of” retains the meaning of “come down to.” It is our choice to receive Jesus, our choice to accept a shared life with God, in giving thanks and glorying in weakness.
“Alongside of” is most extraordinary, for it is a legal position, a position of equality with our Creator in His doings. The word is para, which shows up in our verse as the prefix to a familiar word, “tithemi,” that is, “set forth” or “thesis.” Para comes into English as parallel, two things alongside each other in an equal position. Finally, “inside of” is organic, part of the same living flow, a shared LIFE.
In the Midst Of. God WANTS me to be with Him, inside of Him, that He might share life with me and I with Him. I bring myself into a shared life with God through giving thanks, through no sufficiency in self and all-sufficiency in God. I want a shared life with God my Father as much as He wants a shared life with me. I bring all my human difficulty into God.
Committed to What? Our key word, paratithesthōsan, is the verb tithemi, but in the subjunctive tense, meaning “let” or “ought to.” I have chosen to bend the translation of this subjunctive to “have committed,” because I assume that the Bible is written to believers in Jesus who are committed. It is not written to schizophrenics, as James said, people who wiffle-waffle.
“Are committed to placing their souls alongside of.” Alongside of who or what? The typical translation does not say. For us, “a faithful Creator” must come after in order to be the One alongside of Whom we are giving our souls. Parallel then means that God is also “giving His soul,” setting forth His Soul alongside of ours as the Generator of Life (Creator), filled with faith.
The Core of Being Like Jesus. Para, however, includes us as distinct and valued persons, us by name, alongside of God.
Doing good is just the outcome of living, Soul with soul, alongside of God. Doing good could be laughing with a brother who is laughing or creating a planet filled with life by speaking with God. Doing good is the necessary outcome. But the core of being just like Jesus is this incredible relation of soul with Soul, of us setting forth our souls right there, alongside of God our Father, who is setting forth His Soul for others alongside of ours.
We are talking about the two primary words of our life shared with God, synergeia inside of symmorphy, synergeoing inside of symmorphosed.
Out from Two Souls Together. We must write “alongside of” and “inside of” together.
God is continuously doing good things, that’s just a given. God’s outcome, the thing that gets Him most excited, is sharing the doing of those good things with us, working together, loving together, well-doing together. But that “doing good together” can only come out from the VAST and wondrous meaning of a shared Life, Soul with soul.
Yet what James also said is true for God just as it is for us. God can have all the faith He wants, but if He’s not “doing good” out from that faith, His “faith” would be worthless. The point is not fake faith. The point is the critical GLORY of the two always together, filled with faith and doing good.
God’s Soul with Mine. God’s Soul and our souls given together are always found together inside of well-doing. And the well-doing that God and we are constantly doing together is always coming out from this incredible sharing of Soul with soul, for the sake of others. Synergeoing, continuously making all things good, inside of Symmorphosed, already sharing the same form together.
1 Peter 4:19 is fully parallel to Romans 8:28-30, showing us ever greater wonders by positioning the three parts of being like Jesus into new and joyous arrangements. Here is the fundamental change in my thinking from this verse. When, inside the agony of my soul, I join God and this one, who hurt me so much, together in my heart completely free of me, God is doing the same thing alongside of me.
Our Story of Self. Here is the full phrase again. – Are committed to setting forth their souls alongside of their faith-filled Creator – who is also setting forth His Soul alongside of theirs.
Soul means the thoughts of our minds, intellectual and heart-gut thoughts, the desires of our hearts, and the emotions that attend both thoughts and desires. Soul means our story of self, coming out from what we want, and attended by all kinds of varied emotions. All of my former “Christian” thinking, that which I was taught from every direction, was that my human soul was weak, that it was “the woman” who fell for temptation, that it had to submit itself in obedience to “Christ within,” and that it had to “die” to its own “life.”
Soul with Soul Forever. God says something entirely different. God says that “98%” of being just like Jesus is this sharing of soul with God, God’s Soul and our souls always entwined together, the essence of our unique persons alongside each other, two unique and valued stories, shared together as one inside of Fellowship.
The purpose of the hades in which we once lived was to keep us from knowing such Joy. And it is because we have fled from such awfulness that we insist on “ARE COMMITTED.” “Are committed” is Jesus, our continuous BOND with the Father, joining our souls always together, Soul with soul. It will take forever for us to learn what it means that our souls and God’s Soul are entwined together inside of Purpose.
Alongside Of. God is always my Source. Yet even as I come out from His thoughts, God values me as a distinct person and honors me in all my story of self. I place my soul, my thoughts, desires, and emotions, alongside of God’s Soul for others, even as He places His thoughts, desires, and emotions alongside of mine. Our souls come into harmony together, yet always distinct. Two persons, valuing one another, sharing life together.
Inside of. God is always blessing others; He is always lifting others up and sending forth abundance of goodness into their lives. As I set forth my soul in parallel alongside of God’s Soul, I do so inside a faith-filled Creator, inside of His well-doing. My thoughts are always a life shared with God, but my actions are inside making all things Good.
Statements of Faith. Now that we are caught in the power of this deepest of verses, we can better weave together the statements of faith for this portion of 1 Peter.
I share fervent love together with my brothers and sisters. We cover each other’s mistakes, for love suffers long, love bears with one another forever. Out from that love, I am hospitable to my brethren even as they are hospitable to me. I am always hospitable. I never complain when things go wrong; I always give thanks.
I speak as the speaking of God. I serve out from the strength God is always providing me. My gift, all the grace and kindness of God given to me, is for the service of my brethren in Christ.
I am never startled by any seeming trial or temptation, for I can lose nothing. In complete contrast, I rejoice as I share the sufferings of Christ: I rejoice exultantly inside the unveiling of His glory. For even as I share all that I am with Jesus and He with me, so Christ is seen and known through me.
You see, the glory and Spirit of God rests upon me even when others speak against me. The Spirit of God always rests upon me. That’s why I am never ashamed, even as I suffer for belonging to Jesus. I glorify God in Jesus’ name.
God wants me to share all with Him. As I bring my suffering into God, so I set forth my soul alongside of God’s Soul, even as He sets forth His Soul alongside of mine. God and I share souls together for the sake of others, as we bless and do good for all. As a result, judgment flows out into all creation from me and my brethren together.
Something So Wondrous. God does nothing without Purpose, and His Purpose is always Jesus faithful and True – for the sake of others. Our bodies swallowed up by life, being just like Jesus in outward doing, setting creation free, all well-doing, these things are nothing more than the obvious outcomes of the life we share with God, things that happen in every moment, “in the twinkling of the eye,” we might say, that is, automatically. Yet these wondrous outward things come only out from the Life we share with God.
Our box “I Set Forth My Soul,” will be a prayer. It will not be a prayer of agony, but a prayer of wonder. Peter has set before us something so wondrous and filled with awe, something we have never looked upon before.
I Set Forth My Soul. God, my Father, You ask me to place my human soul alongside of Your divine Soul as of equal value together. You are my Source, and Your Faith overflows into me, that I might know this shared value, this Grace that carries me. Father, I place my thoughts, my desires, and my emotions alongside of Yours, knowing that Jesus brings us into harmony together. Father, I share soul with You inside Your well-doing, setting creation free.
What before How. At this point, we have space to include a portion of the final box for the JS2, “Being Made Like Jesus.”
“What” must always come before “how.” The end goal must be clearly in view before we can know how to get there. If I did not know that I was driving to New York City, I would never arrive there. I would find myself meandering in circles. Most Christian teaching I have known focuses on one “how” or another. Yet because their “what” is only an imaginative “go to” heaven, they cannot know the meaning of the “how.” No one can know the meaning of Galatians 2:20, the first “how” verse of the gospel, if they don’t know the primary rule of Romans 8:28-30, the “What,” synergeoing with God inside sharing the same form together, making all things good.
The Ekenosis. “What” is purpose. “What” is Pro-Thesis. “What” is setting forth our souls alongside of our faithful Creator, the One who is always sending Jesus into us. “What” is LIFE, sharing Soul with soul as equals with God in every next moment forever.
Yes, God is the Source, but we are His appearance. God is the Love, but we are His hands and His voice. I am speaking of the incredible meaning of the Ekenosis, making God visible, none of which could work apart from equality of soul, heart with Heart, value alongside of Value. And so our box must begin with what it means to be like Jesus before we can consider how we are made that way.
Being Made Like Jesus. To follow Jesus is to be made just like Him in pattern, in Word, and in Spirit. The entire Bible is about Jesus making us to be just like Himself. Jesus making us to be just like Himself is the beginning and the completion of our Salvation. Salvation means nothing else.
How Jesus makes us to be just like Himself is the entire Story of the Gospel and of our lives. Yet we cannot know how Jesus does such a wondrous thing until we know what it is we will be. The pattern, the blueprint, comes first.
What We Are Becoming
Another Bible word for the pattern is Pro-Thesis, the set-forth purpose of God coming always out from the core of His being and existence. The Pro-Thesis is Jesus, and the Covenant God has made with us, with His sworn oath, is to make us to be just like the Lord Jesus Christ, to love as He loves, to be sent as He is Sent.
Being like Jesus has three parts, similar to Paul's gospel, entrance, vehicle, and destination. To illustrate, we could say that entrance is one percent, vehicle is ninety-eight percent, and destination is one percent. The entrance is giving thanks for the way God made us, "I can do nothing of myself," no sufficiency in self, all sufficiency in God. The vehicle is our relationship with God our Father, that is, sharing life with God alongside of Him. And the destination is being like Jesus in outward performance, that is, doing good inside of God's well-doing.
Those who imagine that being like Jesus is about outward performance cannot become like Him, neither will they accept those who are.
Our "three parts" are not referencing time, but importance. God is all here now. Forever, we will give thanks inside the glory of our human weakness. Forever, we will act inside of God's well-doing. But the thing we want, the real meaning of being like Jesus, is to share life with God, Father at Home in our hearts.
(I then include the three things from 1 Peter 4:19, “In the Midst Of,” “Alongside Of,” and “Inside Of.”)
Reading for Next Time. The next lesson is titled “I Care for My Brethren,” the deepest meaning of sharing Hheart, that is, Jesus, with God. Be sure you have finished reading the last section of A Tale of Three Kings, the story of Absalom. We will look at the deepest sorrow of David’s soul, in paying the same price Peter chose, to “walk away” rather than bringing any hurt to God’s people.
Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. To bring hurt into the lives of God’s people in order to maintain one’s perceived “place” of pre-eminence, however that is defined, is Satanic. But David put Jerusalem first above himself. And in that sorrow is found the greater part of being a man after God’s own heart.
Let’s Pray Together. “God, our Father, You make us to be just like the Lord Jesus inside of You. We enter into You with thanksgiving, and You place our souls alongside of Yours, and Your Soul alongside of ours. We know You, Father; we share Life with You. Father, we enter into You carrying all of our brethren in our hearts as well, all who belong to Jesus in this present hour, and all those whom You have brought into our lives.
“We desire, Oh God, that all these precious ones be with us here inside this wondrous knowledge of You, this LIFE which You share with us. Father, bring Your Church into glory. And we know, Father, that our Devoted Spirit flows out from us together, right now, accomplishing in power all that we ask, inside of being just like Jesus.”